I will explain this by
stating a fact relative to the bee, one of the animals upon which
instinct is most powerful in its action. There is a certain large moth,
called the Death's-head moth, which is very fond of honey. It sometimes
contrives to force its way through the aperture of the hive, and gain
an entrance. The bees immediately attack it, and it is soon destroyed
by their stings; but the carcass is so large, that they cannot carry it
out of the hive, as they invariably do the bodies of the smaller
insects which may have intruded, and it appears that their sense of
smell is very acute. What, then, do they do to avoid the stench arising
from the dead body of this large moth? Why, they embalm it, covering it
entirely with wax, by which it no longer becomes offensive to them."
"But, papa, might not their instinct have provided for such an event?"
observed William.
"If such an event could have occurred to the bees in their wild state,
you certainly might have raised the question; but recollect, William,
that bees in their wild state live in the hollows of trees, and that
the hole by which they enter is never more than sufficiently large to
admit one bee at a time; consequently, no animal larger than a bee
could gain entrance, and if it did, could of course have been easily
removed from the hive; but the bees were here in a new position, in an
artificial state, in a hive of straw with a large aperture, and
therefore met with an exigence they were not prepared for, and acted
accordingly.
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